Admittance
by FlyingMachine1
Summary: When Arthur's punishment for losing a bet leads to a fight between Arthur and Merlin, the knights of the Round Table take it upon themselves to fix their broken friendship. Arthur and Merlin bromance with a healthy dose of the knights! Two-shot.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello, dear readers! Thanks for stopping by! I'm going to be honest here. If you want to interpret this story as slash, go for it. Although it was written for bromance, I suppose if you squint, it could be slash-ish… Just know that if you did come here for bromance, that's what you shall get! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin.**

"Come on, Arthur. All things considered, what you have to do really isn't all that bad."

Arthur's only response was to glare at Elyan. The four knights of the Round Table and their king were currently in the armory, putting away their gear from their last training session.

"Yeah, princess. We could have gone with _my _punishment. Now _that_ would have been embarrassing."

"Gwaine, the king of Camelot can hardly be seen running naked through the castle shouting about his-"

"I don't want to know." Arthur cut Leon sharply off. The king didn't want anyone having the mental image of Gwaine's punishment in their heads.

"Anyway, Arthur, this punishment is relatively simple." said Leon.

"Just tell Merlin you love him."

"Woah, woah, woah," Arthur held up his hands and stared at Gwaine in alarm. "I do not _love _Merlin."

"Oh, come on, princess, you know that's knot what I mean." Gwaine said with a roll of his eyes. " I don't mean love as in how you love Gwen."

"He means like how _I_love Gwen." supplied Elyan.

"Or like how I love Percival!" Gwaine said, grinning widely up at the big man. Percival only smiled back and ruffled the smaller man's hair, something Percival and Percival alone was allowed to do.

"I still don't love _Mer_lin, brotherly love or otherwise."

There were jumbled statements of disagreement and chuckles from all the knights.

"I don't!"

"Come on, Arthur. We all know it's true; you don't need to hide it." said Elyan.

"We all love Merlin like a little brother, Arthur." said Leon in a more serious tone. "And we know you do, too. If nothing else, you still have to honor the fact that you lost the bet."

Arthur crossed his arms over his chest. "I do _not _love Merlin."

The knights all exchanged glances that made Arthur instantly wary.

"I suppose we'll just have to use plan B then. Percival?" Percival grinned evilly and stepped forward.

"Percival," the king said slowly, taking a step back and holding up his hands. "Now, I am your king, and you can't-"

That's as far as Arthur got before Percival lunged forward and plowed his shoulder into the king's stomach, eliciting a loud _"oof!"_, and hoisted the man up as if he were no more than a sack of potatoes.

"Percival!" yelled Arthur angrily as he kicked his legs. "I am your king! You will put me down right this instant!"

"Sorry, sire," said Percival, not sounding sorry in the least. "but it's for your own good."

The knights and their reluctant king continued on their way to the physician's chambers, where they knew Merlin would be. They must have been quite the sight, four laughing knights and the king of Camelot, hoisted up over the shoulder of the biggest man, kicking and screaming obscenities down the halls. Needless to say, they turned a few heads.

When they reached Gaius's chambers, Arthur was put down and didn't even have time to properly regain his footing before he was shoved through the door, the knights barreling in right behind him.

The only person in the room was a rather alarmed Merlin. Gaius had left a few days ago and would be gone for another few days in order to provide aid to a small village suffering from a fever outbreak. This had left Merlin in charge of the castle's medical needs while the physician was away, since he was Gaius's apprentice. Arthur had graciously lightened Merlin's chore load for the time being, seeing as his servant couldn't be away from the physician's chambers for too long.

During one of the periods of Merlin's absence acting as Court Physician, Arthur, who had been incredibly bored with no one to insult, had foolishly agreed to a trip to the tavern with Elyan, Percival, Gwaine, and Leon. While there, after downing a few too many drinks, Arthur had once again foolishly agreed to an arm wrestling competition.

With Percival.

After much discussion, punishments were made. If Arthur won, Percival would have to attend the next training session with all the knights in a dress (the only reason the big man agreed to such an embarrassing punishment was because, let's face it, Percival wasn't going to lose).

If Percival won, Arthur had to tell Merlin, to his face, that he genuinely did like him.

Unsurprisingly, after a shamefully short match, Percival had won.

Now, Arthur had to pay up.

"What's going on?" asked Merlin in a slightly panicked voice. His eyes rested on the clearly frustrated Arthur. "Is Arthur alright?"

"Oh, the princess is fine." Gwaine said with a smirk. "His arm may be a bit sore, though." Merlin only furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as the knights snickered.

Arthur, who was glaring heatedly at his men, straightened out his clothes in an attempt to regain some of his dignity, and turned to face his manservant.

"Not that I don't appreciate having four knights and a prat burst into my chambers giggling like maidens," the men pouted at being compared to 'giggling maidens'. "but what are you all doing here?"

"Arthur here has something he would like to tell you." said Elyan cheerily, clapping Arthur on the back, much to the king's annoyance.

Merlin looked to Arthur in expectation and the blonde sighed heavily, rolling his eyes, and stepped forward to stand in front of his servant.

"I just wanted to say that… well, um…" Oh, why had he made this stupid bet? This was ridiculous. What part of Arthur's brain, even when drunk, thought he even had a remote chance of beating Percival in a competition of strength? "I wanted to let you know that…"

"…yes?" asked Merlin, unsure of where this was going.

"Get on with it, princess!" complained Gwaine with a heavy sigh.

Arthur huffed and ran a hand through his hair. "Fine. Merlin," the king looked his servant in the eye. "contrary to what you might think and what I might make it seem… I l-like you."

The knights sighed and rolled their eyes, not quite satisfied with the admittance, but they knew they weren't likely to get anything better. Merlin, for his part, could only stare at the king in surprise. Yes, Arthur did say it rather reluctantly, and saying he 'liked' him really wasn't much, but to Merlin, it meant a lot. Arthur had never outright said that he even tolerated Merlin, let alone liked him. Even though Merlin knew Arthur had a unique way of showing affection (mainly throwing things and insults), sometimes some of the teasing did get to him a bit. It was nice to be reassured that the insults weren't true every once in a while.

"Thanks, Arthur," said Merlin with a smile. He was actually kind of flattered that Arthur had come all the way up here just to tell him that he liked him.

"Yes, well," Arthur began gruffly, "just make sure my sword is sharpened by tomorrow."

Merlin was just shaking his head at Arthur's typical behavior when Gwaine suddenly spoke up and he froze.

"Don't look so glum, princess. You lost the bet and now you've survived the punishment. It really wasn't that bad."

"Wait," Merlin said, his serious tone causing everyone to freeze and turn to face him. "This was… this whole thing was just Arthur's _punishment_ for losing a bet?"

While the knights nodded hesitantly, sensing the servant's rising anger, Arthur snorted loudly.

"Of course it was! You don't think I'd just waltz in here on my own to tell you I liked you out of the blue, do you?" Arthur missed the hurt flash across Merlin's face and continued. "Honestly, _Mer_lin, just when I think you couldn't be any more of an idiot."

Just as Arthur shook his head and made to leave, Merlin was no longer able to hold in his anger.

"Oh, I see how it is!" Merlin yelled, his rage surprising everyone. "Did you all just ask yourselves 'hmm, what would be the most painful, degrading punishment for Arthur? Oh, I know, how about having to tell Merlin that he likes him! Wouldn't that be a riot!'" The knights all exchanged guilty glances as Arthur just stared at Merlin in shock. "And I bet you all got an extra kick out of me actually believing it, too!" Merlin's eyes were now glinting with anger and unshed tears. "Well, congratulations on getting through this excruciating punishment alive, Arthur. I know it was an incredibly unpleasant thing to do, admitting you liked a clumsy idiot like me, but you don't need to worry," Merlin's voice got quieter, but it didn't lose its irate edge. "we all know it's not true." The servant grabbed his coat off the table and pushed his way through the shocked knights, but he paused and looked back when he was at the door. This time, the only emotions shining in his tear filled eyes were hurt and disappointment as he stared straight at Arthur.

"I thought you had changed." With that, Merlin stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Merlin's firm, determined walk away from the taunting knights and Arthur's harsh words quickly turned into a desperate jog as he felt his hold on his emotions slip. In his hurry, he ran into a maid, knocking her laundry to the ground, but it only made him run faster, raising a hand to his mouth in an attempt to physically hold in a sob. He rounded a corner, finding a small, abandoned nook between a tapestry and the wall and he quickly slipped into it, sliding down the wall and trying to reign in his wild emotions.

Back in Gaius's chambers, the knights and their king stood frozen in shock for a few minutes more. Never before had they seen Merlin so angry. In fact, they hardly ever saw him unhappy, let alone even slightly mad. It was startling how intimidating the slight man could be when he wanted to. After a few more moments of silence, Gwaine, unsurprisingly, was the first person to speak.

"Nicely done, princess."

"Me?" Arthur asked incredulously, rounding on Gwaine. "How is this my fault? Merlin is the one who overreacted!"

"Maybe if you had tried to sound a bit more… sincere about it," suggested Elyan slowly.

"Everything was perfectly fine until Gwaine spoke up!" accused Arthur, ignoring Elyan's comment.

"Either way, sire, it may be best if you went and apologized to Merlin."

"_Apologize?_"

"Or at least reassure him, sire." Leon attempted to rephrase. Arthur only shook his head.

"No, if Merlin wants to be a girl about this, then let him. The stubborn idiot can never talk to me again for all I care. The quite might even be nice." With that, the king almost perfectly mimicked his servant's actions as he stomped angrily out of the room, slamming the door sharply behind him.

"That could have gone better." sighed Percival.

~0~0~0~0~

That night, Gwaine, Percival, and Elyan were all in Leon's chambers, a popular meeting spot for the knights of the Round Table, much to Leon's annoyance.

"So, what are we going to do to fix this?" asked Elyan.

"I don't know." Leon sighed. From his place perched on the windowsill, Gwaine took a loud bite from one of his ever present apples and Leon glared over at him. "Gwaine, I swear to God, if you leave another apple core in my room, I will personally make sure you don't eat another one for a month."

"Don't worry, _dad_," the knight said with a roll of his eyes. "I won't."

The knights sat in silence for a few minutes after that, wracking their brains for any sort of solution to the problem they had created.

"We've really done a bad thing, haven't we?" questioned Percival sadly.

"We _broke_ Arthur and Merlin." Gwaine said in a disbelieving tone. "That shouldn't even be possible. I mean, it's always been 'ArthurnMerlin'." Gwaine set down his apple core on a nearby table and held up his hands, clasping them together to represent the fact that the king and his manservant were a unit. "And now, there is Arthur," the knight separated his hands and held one out to the right. "and there is Merlin." He held his other hand out to the left and stared at his separated hands as if it was the most unnatural thing in the world.

"If we could only get them in the same room together," offered Elyan, ignoring Gwaine's spontaneous impassioned speech, having grown used to them by now. "I'm sure they would make up with each other."

The other three knights all nodded in agreement. The king and his manservant had been in many smaller fights before and they always managed to make up in the end. This particular fight, however, was pretty bad. It seemed like it would take more than a grin from Merlin and a punch in the shoulder from Arthur to fix this one.

It would take the help of four determined knights.

"So, we need to get them to stay in the same room together, right?" the other knights hesitantly nodded and Gwaine smirked and continued. "I think I might have a way to do that."

~0~0~0~0~

Arthur sat in his room, staring moodily into the dancing flames in his hearth. That stupid dollop head. Why did he have to be so over dramatic about things? They hadn't meant to make him upset. Arthur hadn't even wanted to do this in the first place! Not that Arthur felt _any _sort of guilt about the situation. If Merlin wanted to be a girl about the whole thing, that was fine with Arthur.

Although, the hurt and disappointed way he had looked at Arthur…

No! No, Arthur felt no guilt whatsoever. He really had no reason to! Why should he feel guilty about the fact that they had made Merlin uncharacteristically angry, or the hurt tone in his voice, or the tears in his servant's eyes, or those last words…

'_I thought you had changed.'_

Arthur shook his head and stood up, huffing in frustration. Arthur _had _changed. Really, he had! He was no longer the servant bullying prince that Merlin had first met, he was now…

'_A servant bullying king?' _suggested a voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like Merlin when he was letting the king know he was being a prat.

Arthur once again shook his head, trying to rid his mind of the thought, and ran his fingers through his hair. He should really stop worrying about this. Merlin would come to his senses. He always did, right?

Just then, a knock sounded from his door. As he walked over to open it, Arthur tried to convince himself that he was not feeling disappointed in the _least_ that it couldn't be Merlin because the idiot never knocked. When the king reached his door, he pulled it open to reveal Percival.

"Ah, Percival." greeted Arthur. "Come to apologize for earlier?"

"Something like that, sire."

Before Arthur could question the unusual response, he found himself once again hoisted up over the big man's shoulder.

"Dammit, Percival!" shouted Arthur as the big man started briskly walking down the corridor away from the king's room. "We are _not_ going through this again! You will put me down this instant, or you will be in the stocks for a month!"

Percival only ignored the king's threats, glaring at any of the guards they passed when Arthur ordered them to arrest Percival. The guards themselves only continued on their way, ignoring the whole situation. They all knew it was best not to get involved when the knights of the Round Table were part of the problem. It was an unspoken rule that the knights of the Round Table, the king, of course, and oddly enough, the king's manservant, were all but untouchable to the guards of Camelot.

So, with no help coming from passers by, Percival continued merrily on with his part of the knights' master plan, and walked untroubled down the halls with a raging king slung over his shoulder.

~0~0~0~0~

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the castle, Gwaine walked down the halls, searching for a certain clumsy manservant. The long haired knight had originally thought his part of the plan was rather simple. All he had to do was get Merlin. Elyan and Leon were the ones who were stuck in Gaius's chambers, cleaning out a closet, and Percival, the poor sod, had to fetch the princess.

Now, however, after aimlessly wandering the halls for over ten minutes, Gwaine was starting to think this could be a bit harder than he thought. Where could Merlin possible be?

Just when Gwaine was beginning to worry that Merlin might had left the castle to take a walk in the forest to clear his head, he turned a corner to see the back of a very familiar person walking down the hall.

Gwaine grinned and stealthily snuck up behind Merlin, bracing himself, before in one swift motion, the knight bent down, grabbed Merlin's ankle, knocked his shoulder into the back of the servant's knees, and stood up once more, now with one manservant hanging upside down off his back.

"Gwaine!" yelped Merlin as he tried to keep his head from banging against the ground with each step the knight took. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Just sit back and enjoy the ride, mate." replied Gwaine while he readjusted his hold on Merlin's ankle.

"Oh, yes, because this is _very_ comfortable." grumbled Merlin as he finally gave up and let his arms drag along the ground, but still fought to keep his head up.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll find out when we get there!" rang out Gwaine in a sing-songy voice. Merlin groaned in frustration before smirking as he got a sudden idea.

"Ow!" cried Gwaine as Merlin's free foot collided with the side of his head.

"Put me down!" demanded Merlin, landing another blow on the back of the knight's head. Gwaine only chuckled and grabbed Merlin's free foot, now gripping that ankle tightly, too, successfully preventing any more kicks to the head.

"Calm down, Merlin, we're almost there."

~0~0~0~0~

"You think they'll be angry?" asked Elyan, somewhat anxiously.

"Well, if the king's earlier reaction to being carried here is anything to go by…" sighed Leon.

The two knights had finished their job of emptying out Gaius's closet a few minutes earlier and were now sitting at the table, nervously waiting for the others to arrive.

A few minutes later, they could hear angry shouts echoing down the hall.

"Here comes one of them." said Leon as he and Elyan stood up. The yells got louder and louder until finally the door was pushed open and Percival strode in with one pissed off king tossed over one shoulder.

"Ah, good, you've got the king. We're half way there then." said Elyan in greeting over the yells of said king.

"Is it _really _necessary for you to still be carrying me?" demanded Arthur, whose ribs were starting to get sore from his uncomfortable position.

"Sorry, sire, but we know you too well to do that." said Leon, who at least had the decency to sound apologetic. "You would run off the second you were put down."

Arthur could only groan in frustration and continue to struggle in the big man's hold. Damn his knights for knowing his so well.

"You'll all be put in the stocks for this, I hope you know that."

"A fair price to pay for a noble cause such as our own!" Gwaine declared dramatically as he strode through the door. All the knights and even Arthur had to wince at the painful looking position Merlin was in.

"Gwaine," Leon sighed disapprovingly with a shake of his head.

"What? It got him here, didn't it?" the brown haired knight defended.

"Yes, and why exactly do I need to be here?" questioned Merlin.

"Well, you see-"

"Maybe," cut in Elyan. "we should put them _down_," he said the word as if it had a double meaning. "before we explain. Merlin looks like he'll pass out if he's held upside down for much longer and Percival must be tired of struggling with the king." Percival shot Elyan a grateful smile as he continued to fight to keep the squirming Arthur on his shoulder.

All the knights exchanged meaningful glances before Percival and Gwaine strode forward and Leon went to the closet door.

Similar demands of "what's happening?" and "what's going on?" were loudly called out from Merlin and Arthur before suddenly, the two men found themselves deposited on the floor. They only had a second to register where they were before their vision was enveloped by darkness.

The king of Camelot and his manservant had been shut into a closet.

**A/N: Fear not! The next chapter shall be posted either later today or tomorrow, so you won't have to wait long! Thanks for reading and let me know what you think of it so far! **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: RUN! EVERYBODY RUUUUN! IT'S… IT'S… MEGA-CHAPTER! OH GOD, IT'S HUGE! NOOOOOOOO! But seriously, this is one huge chapter. I didn't want to have to split this story up any further, however, so here's the rest in one giant chunk! I hope it doesn't disappoint! Time to bring on the Merlin wump and hurt/comfort!**

**Warning: A sickeningly large amount of feels. Brace yourselves. **

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Merlin. **

"Let us out of here right now!" yelled Arthur, banging loudly on the closet door.

"Sorry, princess," came Gwaine's muffled voice through the door. "but not until you have admitted your love for Merlin!"

"_What?_" Arthur and Merlin shouted simultaneously.

"We're the reason you two got into a fight," began Percival.

"So, now we're fixing it!" finished Gwaine.

"How does _this_ fix anything?" fumed Arthur as he tried for the door handle, only to find that there wasn't one on the inside of the door.

Arthur was trapped. In a small closet. With _Merlin_.

He was going to kill those knights.

"We'll let both of you out once you two have made up, sire." came Leon's voice.

"Well, you'll be waiting out there for a while then." replied Arthur stubbornly.

"Oh, we have no intention of waiting here."

"What? Where are you going?" shouted Merlin.

"We'll be back in a little while!" called Elyan, his voice growing fainter as the knights walked away. Arthur could have sworn he heard a very muffled "To the tavern!" from Gwaine before no more sounds came from the other side of the door.

"This is absolutely ridiculous." complained Arthur as he sat back and blinked rapidly, trying to get his eyes to adjust to the darkness. Merlin, for his part, only remained silent. "Merlin?" still no response. "Oh, I see, you're giving me the cold shoulder now. That's real mature, _Mer_lin. I can't believe…"

As Arthur continued his rant about how much of a girl Merlin was being and how much he hated this situation and the knights, Merlin had stopped listening. He hadn't stopped listening because he was tuning out his master's complaints, although, over the years, Merlin had become the master of tuning out Arthur. No, this time it was something different. Merlin suddenly realized how small the closet was.

Too small.

Merlin felt his heart pump faster and his chest constrict as he was flooded with the overwhelming urge to _get out_. It felt as if the walls were getting closer, pushing on him from all sides, squeezing… suffocating…

He couldn't breathe.

"Arthur,"

"What right do those men think they have throwing their king in some closet like I was a mop…"

"Arthur," Merlin gasped out again.

"It's going to be at least a week in the stocks for all of them. And to be thrown in here with _you_ when you're acting all girly and angry-"

"Arthur!"

"Oh, you're finally going to speak to me now?"

"_Arthur,_" Merlin choked out once more and the king suddenly felt his anger melt away to be quickly replaced by worry.

"Merlin?" Arthur reached a hand out and after a moment of blindly grasping nothing but air in the darkness, finally found his servant's shoulder and gripped is tightly. The king's concern only grew when he felt the violent trembling wracking his friend's frame. "What's wrong?"

"I c-can't-" Merlin's panicked breaths were now coming out in short, quick gasps. "I can't breathe."

"Just calm down, Merlin," Arthur said as if he could simply order his servant's panic away. He was trying to keep his own anxiety out of his voice, which was proving to be a rather difficult task. "Tell me what's wrong."

Arthur's words did little to calm Merlin, however. The raven haired man could barely hear them over the thudding of his own heart and the dull roaring sound in his ears.

"Need to g-get out," Merlin managed to quietly mumble between gasps.

"What did you say?" asked Arthur, leaning closer.

"Need to get out." he repeated louder. Merlin was beyond rational thinking at this point. All he knew was this space was much too small and he needed to get out _now_.

Arthur quickly withdrew his hand in shock when Merlin suddenly threw himself at the door, kicking it and pounding against it with his fists like a man possessed.

"_LET US OUT!_" roared the servant. "_PLEASE, LET US OUT!_" Merlin's tone was bordering on hysterical now and if Arthur wasn't worried before, he definitely was now.

Seeing that the door wasn't going to budge an no one on the outside was going to open it, Merlin's panic doubled. There was only one other thing he could think of.

Merlin felt his magic swirling nervously inside of him and he called it to the surface. He could feel the familiar tingling in his fingertips and the dizzying rush of power as he prepared to raise his hand and blast the damned door off its hinges. He sucked in a deep breath…

And then there were hands on his shoulders, pulling his back and clearing his mind enough for him to realize what he was about to do and quickly slam the lid back down on his rising magic.

"Merlin, I need you to calm down and tell me what is the matter with you right now." Arthur had never seen Merlin this worked up before and if he was honest, it scared him.

"Too small," the servant managed to choke out.

"What's too small?" As a way of answering, Arthur could just make out Merlin's outline in the darkness as the younger man reached his arms out, one pushing on the door, the other pushing against the opposite wall. Arthur thought there couldn't be more than three feet between the two hands and suddenly it clicked. "The closet's too small?"

All Merlin could do was nod, his hitched breathing making it difficult to speak, and continue to push outwards with his hands as if it could somehow make the closet bigger.

"Merlin, are you claustrophobic?" The raven haired man made a sound somewhere between a strangled cough and a snort, and Arthur took it as a _"No, I just enjoy breathing like this. Of course I'm claustrophobic, you clotpole!" _How the king was able to get so much from one noise, Arthur would never know. "Okay then, just… try and breathe. Try not to think about the fact that you're in a little closet."

"You're n-not helping!" wheezed Merlin. He was having a full blown panic attack now. Had he been thinking a bit more clearly, he might have been embarrassed by the tears that were slipping down his cheeks, but at the moment, he hardly even noticed them.

Arthur hated seeing Merlin like this. The man was like an incessant songbird; he always had something to sing about. As much as Arthur griped and threw things and complained, however, he had come to rely on Merlin's constant optimism. Merlin had always been able to see the good in every person and situation, an endearing quality that Arthur had always teased him about being naïve for having.

Arthur had always thought Merlin's goofy, too wide grin was like a second sun, warm and radiant. Now, the blonde was beginning to see that his servant's smile was like the sun in another way, too. When it was gone, everything seemed colder and darker. Arthur didn't like it. He didn't like it one bit.

So he would just have to fix it.

"Merlin," Arthur said in the most soothing voice he could muster. Arthur wasn't sure about this. He resolutely swallowed his pride, however, reminding himself that this would all be worth it when Merlin smiled again.

Still gripping Merlin's shoulders, Arthur gently pulled the younger man forward and snaked his arms around his back so Arthur now help his servant securely against his chest.

"Just close your eyes and breathe with me." Arthur then concentrated on making his own breaths deep and even, and for once, Merlin did as he was told. After a few minutes, Merlin's sharp gasps started to slow and deepen.

"There you go, that's it." praised Arthur as he rubbed reassuring circles on Merlin's back. He was actually quite proud of himself for finding a solution.

After a few more minutes, Merlin's breathing matched Arthur's and his trembling had all but stopped, but the king couldn't bring himself to let go of the other man quite yet. So, they both simply sat there in silence and Arthur was just beginning to wonder if Merlin had fallen asleep from a post panic attack exhaustion when the servant spoke up.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier." he apologized softly. Arthur let out an airy laugh and gave Merlin a slight squeeze.

"I suppose I did deserve it. It was mean, what we did to you, and I'm sorry."

"It's alright," Merlin replied after a beat of silence. "It wasn't really what you guys did that made me angry. In fact, I wasn't really angry at all. Anger was just easier to feel than…"

"Hurt?" Arthur supplied, though it was phrased more as a statement than a question. Guilt pooled in the king's stomach as he felt Merlin nod against his chest. "If," Arthur began hesitantly, not quite sure he wanted to know the answer. "If it wasn't what we did that hurt you, what was it?" Merlin was silent for a while and Arthur was beginning to think he wasn't going to get an answer when, in a small, quiet voice, Merlin admitted,

"After all these years, after all we've been through, the only time you ever admit to liking me was as a punishment for losing a bet."

This time, it was Arthur's turn to be silent. He wracked his brain for a time when he had told Merlin how he felt, but he came up empty. Arthur realized with a heavy heart that he really never had let Merlin know how much he meant to him.

"And even then," continued Merlin in a voice so quiet, Arthur could barely hear it. "you only said it because you had to."

"Merlin, listen to me." Arthur demanded in a firm voice. He wouldn't let Merlin believe that any longer. He leaned back and grasped his servant by the shoulders, looking him in the eye as best as he could in the darkness. "There are people in my life who I love. I love my father, I love Guinevere, I love Gaius, I even love those idiots who insist on calling themselves the knights of the Round Table. And for the life of me, I can't figure out how you've done it, but my love for them pales in comparison to my love for you, Merlin. You're my brother. My little brother who I may yell, and scream, and throw things at, but in all honesty, I cherish as the person I keep nearest and dearest to my heart." A small smile graced the king's features. It felt oddly gratifying to tell the younger man this. "So, you're right, I don't like you. Merlin, I _adore_ you."

All was still for a few seconds following this confession, but then, like the morning sun rising to brighten a new day, a radiant smile split Merlin's face and Arthur felt a wave of warmth wash over him.

The blonde chuckled lightly and ruffled his servant's hair before both men sat back against the wall, shoulder to shoulder.

After a few minutes, a sudden thought occurred to Arthur and he felt his previous warmth drain out of him, leaving behind a cold, hollow feeling.

"I'm sorry, Merlin."

"Arthur," Merlin said with a slight smile. "You've already apologized for what you and the knights did. It's fine, I forgive you."

"No, no, it's not that," Arthur replied as he brought up a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. "It's just… you were right. What you said earlier… I haven't changed, and for that I am deeply sorry and… _ashamed_."

"Arthur Pendragon, you listen to me." demanded Merlin in a firm, confident voice. Arthur turned to face his servant, unable to deny his surprise at the younger man's commanding tone. "Everything I said before I said out of anger because I was hurt. I was wrong, _so wrong. _You've changed so much, Arthur." When the king still didn't look convinced, Merlin plowed on, his voice strong and radiating conviction. "Arthur, over the years, I've had the pleasure of watching you grow and change into the man I knew you would someday become. You're following your heart and becoming a strong and compassionate king who will someday become the greatest leader Albion has ever known. In complete honesty, I couldn't be more proud of you."

And there it was again, that brilliant smile turning up the corners of Merlin's lips and blasting away any doubts Arthur may have had left. Arthur smiled back.

"Thank you, Merlin. That means a lot, especially coming from you." And it was true. Arthur never felt like he was truly doing the right thing unless Merlin approved of it, too. If his friend thought he had changed for the better, then he really must have.

The two men returned to sitting and waiting for the return of the knights, but now that all was silent and still again, Merlin's mind wandered once again to the incredibly small space he was in, causing panic to spark a bit in his chest. So, ever so slowly, as if he was afraid moving too fast would cause him to be rejected, Merlin leaned into Arthur.

"Merlin," Arthur sighed with a roll of his eyes because, seeing as the only other thing in the closet besides Arthur was Merlin, the younger man's attempts at having his movements go unnoticed were failing horribly. "what are you doing?"

Merlin felt his face flush at being caught and he stumbled over his words as he tried to explain. "Well, it was… earlier when you… um, it really helped when you… what I mean is, this closet is still quite small and it was nice when we were…"

"Merlin?"

"Yes?"

"Shut up." Despite his harsh words, there was undeniable affection in Arthur's voice. He knew what his servant was trying- and failing- to ask for, so Arthur decided to take pity on the man and not make him trip over his words any longer. "Honestly, Merlin, the things I do for you." the king said sarcastically as he flung an arm around Merlin's shoulders and pulled him close.

The younger man sighed in contentment and scooted himself a bit closer. He felt completely and wonderfully _safe_ in Arthur's arms, as if the king could physically stop the walls from closing in on them. Also, being this close to Arthur, Merlin could feel his even breathing and hear the steady thrum of his pulse which served for two unbelievably calming reminders that his friend was, in that moment, perfectly alive and well.

"Arthur?" asked Merlin after a few moments of silence.

"Hmm?"

"I love you, too."

Arthur's heart swelled so much from those four little words, he was surprised it didn't burst out of his chest. He felt a golden warmth rush through him, the likes of which he had never felt before. It was a wonderful feeling. He pulled Merlin a bit closer and pressed his lips to the top of his friend's raven haired head in a brief kiss, before returning to his former position of leaning up against the back wall with Merlin tucked up against his side.

The two sat in a comfortable silence after that, just being in each other's presence was enough for the time being.

~0~0~0~0~

When the knights returned to Gaius's chambers, all was silent. Worryingly so.

"You don't think we've killed them, do you?" whispered Elyan nervously.

"Only one way to find out." answered Gwaine as he walked cautiously over to the closet door. "Hello? Princess? Merlin? You two still alive in there?"

"You have exactly five seconds to open this door, or I'm executing you." came Arthur's muffled reply.

"Did you admit your love for Merlin?" Gwaine questioned in a sing-songy voice. The king's large sigh of frustration could be heard through the door.

"Yes, now open this door!"

"Alright, alright." chucked Gwaine as he reached for the door handle. He was still chuckling as he swung open the door, but was abruptly cut off when he suddenly found himself flat on his back, having been tackled to the ground by one extremely angry king.

"How dare you keep us locked up in there?" bellowed Arthur. Although Gwaine was the one he was currently glaring at, the question was directed at all four knights.

"Calm down, it was just a bit of fun." insisted Gwaine as he picked himself up off the floor.

"Just a bit of fun?" fumed Arthur. "Tell me, were any of you aware of the fact that Merlin is claustrophobic?"

All four knights paled and immediately sobered up. Their wide eyes shifted to Merlin, who had shot out of the closet the second the door had been opened and was now sitting on the bench at the table, looking a little pale himself.

"We're so sorry, Merlin." began Leon earnestly.

"Yeah, mate," continued Gwaine, who sounded uncharacteristically apologetic. "Had we known, we never would have thrown you in there." the other knights nodded enthusiastically in agreement.

"It's fine. No harm done." Merlin said with a shaky smile, always being one to quickly forgive when it came to his friends.

Arthur, however, was a different story.

"No, no it is not _fine_." the king seethed. "All of you complete and utter dollop heads threw a man with a fear of small spaces into a very small space without even thinking about the consequences! What part of that is fine?"

"Careful, Arthur, your affection is showing." smirked Gwaine. Arthur sputtered for a moment, fully realizing what he just said and that Gwaine was right. "Don't worry, princess, we won't judge! Now that you and Merlin are _out of the closet_, you're free to openly show your love!"

The knights all fought to contain their laughter and Merlin face palmed while Arthur only glared.

"I'll give you a three second head start." warned Arthur in a low voice.

"Oh, come on, princess-"

"One."

"It had to be said!"

"Two."

"Arthur, you're not seriously going to-"

"Three."

With a yelp, Gwaine took off, sprinting out of the physician's chambers and down the hall with the king hot on his tail and the knights and Merlin laughing loudly behind them.

~0~0~0~0~

_The next day…_

"Well, gents, it's been an honor serving with you." Gwaine proclaimed solemnly. The other three knights nodded as best as they could given their awkward position before they all looked up, bravely facing the oncoming assault head on.

"_Fire!_"

Rotten fruit and vegetables rained down on the four stock bound knights from all directions. As the four men took their punishment, none of them could stop the smile or the feeling of satisfaction that spread through them as they saw their king and his manservant walk by, side by side, with Arthur nudging Merlin and pointing at the knights with a laugh and a goofy smile lighting up Merlin's face.

Seeing that sight and knowing that they had helped not only fix, but strengthen, a friendship as special as Arthur and Merlin's made the knights more than happy to bear one day in the stocks.

It was worth it.

**A/N: Woo, that baby was looooong! And I know that "out of the closet" joke from Gwaine was probably a bit too modern, but let's be honest. We were all thinking it. It couldn't not be said. Thanks for reading and all the favorites/follows/reviews! You guys are the best!**


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